| 1. |
- Bennerstedt, Ulrika, 1979, et al.
(författare)
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How gamers manage aggression: Situating skills in collaborative computer games
- 2012
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Ingår i: International Journal of Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1556-1607 .- 1556-1615. ; 7:1, s. 43-61
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In the discussion on what players learn from digital games, there are two major camps in clear opposition to each other. As one side picks up on negative elements found in games the other side focuses on positive aspects. While the agendas differ, the basic arguments still depart from a shared logic: that engagement in game-related activities fosters the development of behaviors that are transferred to situations beyond the game itself. With an approach informed by ethnomethodology, in this paper we probe the underlying logic connected to studies that argue for such general effects of games. By focusing on proficient gamers involved in the core game activity of boss encounters in a massively multiplayer online game, we examine the fundamentals that must be learnt and mastered for succeeding in an ordinary collaborative gaming practice where aggression is portrayed. On the basis of our empirical analysis we then address the contentious links between concrete instances of play and generic effects. As expected, the results point to “aggression” as well as “collaboration” as major components in the gaming experience, but our analysis also suggests that the practices associated with these notions are locally tied to the game. Based on these results, we propose that to reverse this relationship and claim that game environments foster collaboration or aggression in general first assumes strong theoretical claims about the nature of cognition and learning, and second, risks confusing the debate with hyperbole.
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| 2. |
- Alklind Taylor, Anna-Sofia, 1975-
(författare)
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Facilitation matters : A framework for instructor-led serious gaming
- 2014
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- This thesis explores the use of serious games from an instructor perspective. More specifically, it aims to study the roles of instructors and how they can be facilitated within an instructor-led game-based training environment. Research within the field of serious games has mostly focused on the learners' perspective, but little attention has been paid to what the instructors do and what challenges that entails. In this thesis, I argue that serious games, as artefacts used for learning and training, cannot fully replace the instructors' tasks, but must rather be designed to facilitate the various activities of the instructors. Thus, instructors form an important target audience in serious game development – not just as subject matter experts, but also as users and players of the game – with a different set of needs than the learners. Moreover, serious gaming (the actualisation of a serious game) involves more than in-game activities, it also involves actions and events that occur off-game. These activities must also be considered when designing and utilising games for learning and training.Using a qualitative approach, instructor-led serious gaming has been explored from a range of contexts, from rehabilitation to incident commander training and military training. Several different instructor roles have been identified and characterised, including in-game facilitator, puckster, debriefer, technical support and subject matter expert. Based on empirical and theoretical material, a framework for instructor-led serious gaming has been developed. It involves best practices in different phases of game-based training, such as scenario authoring, coaching-by-gaming, assessing in-game and off-game performance, giving feedback, and conducting a debriefing or after-action review. Furthermore, specific needs and challenges for instructors have been identified and reformulated into guidelines for instructor-led serious gaming. The guidelines highlight the importance of usability and visualisation, as well as the need for carefully designed support tools for instructors' situation awareness, assessment and debriefing. Lastly, a number of success factors pertaining to both the development and actualisation of serious games are presented. Since serious games aim to be both productive and engaging, it is advantageous to work with interdisciplinary teams when developing serious games. This includes subject matter experts well versed in serious gaming practices. Furthermore, a successful serious game should adhere to sound pedagogical theories, be easy to use and maintain, and include system support for instructors' tasks. Successful serious gaming practices also involve having an organisational culture that fosters knowledge sharing among practitioners.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Lantz-Andersson, Annika, 1961, et al.
(författare)
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The 'voice' of absent designers
- 2011
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Ingår i: Nordic Journal of Digital Literacy. - 1891-943X. ; 6:1/2, s. 52-74
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This empirical case study explores how the design of educational software co-determines students’ reasoning when solving mathematical problems. The results indicate that the students’ awareness of the design process behind the software became a resource for them when solving the task. The student’s actions were guided by their understanding of the intentions of the designers, i.e. by listening to the ‘voice’ of the absent designers.
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| 6. |
- Linderoth, Jonas, 1970
(författare)
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Beyond the digital divide: An ecological approach to gameplay
- 2011
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Ingår i: Think Design Play: The fifth international conference of the Digital Research Association (DIGRA).
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper outlines a framework for understanding gameplay from the perspective of ecological psychology. According to this perspective, gameplay can be described in terms of perceiving, acting on and transforming the affordances that are related to a game system or to other players in a game. Challenges in games have an emphasis on perceiving suitable actions and/or performing suitable actions, often with emphasis on one aspect. For example, in many board games, strategy games and puzzle games, the challenge is to perceive appropriate affordances while in many sports, multiplayer shooter games, racing games, etc. the challenge is to use appropriate affordances. From this follows that the ecological approach to gameplay overrides the division of games as being digital and non-digital games.
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| 7. |
- Linderoth, Jonas, 1970
(författare)
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Beyond the digital divide: An ecological approach to gameplay
- 2013
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Ingår i: Transactions of the Digital Games Research Association. - 2328-9422. ; 1:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper outlines a framework for understanding gameplay from the perspective of ecological psychology. According to this perspective, gameplay can be described in terms of perceiving, acting on and transforming the affordances that are related to a game system or to other players in a game. Challenges in games have an emphasis on perceiving suitable actions and/or performing suitable actions, often with emphasis on one aspect. For example, in many board games, strategy games and puzzle games, the challenge is to perceive appropriate affordances while in many sports, multiplayer shooter games, racing games, etc. the challenge is to use appropriate affordances. From this follows that the ecological approach to gameplay overrides the division of games as being digital and non-digital games.
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| 8. |
- Linderoth, Jonas, 1970, et al.
(författare)
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Chivalry, subordination and courtship culture: Being a ‘Woman’ in online games
- 2014
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Ingår i: Journal of Gaming & Virtual Worlds. - : Intellect. - 1757-191X .- 1757-1928. ; 6:1, s. 33-47
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Computer and video gaming are social activities, where people with different backgrounds, different nationalities and different ages meet. Research dating back to the early years of online gaming proposed that individual backgrounds were especially irrelevant online and that, consequently, games could be arenas for exploring new identities, gender relations and sexualities. Taking this as a starting point, we report in this article from an interview study. The results confirm that gaming is an activity where the participants’ backgrounds might be largely ignored. This also includes gender insofar as the participants can choose what gender to assume. However, whereas individual online gender (female or male) can be chosen freely, femininity and what it is like to be a woman are represented as being rather rigid. The article explores this tension between the free choice of the female position and its fixed content in relation to assumptions of the transgressive nature of computer gaming.
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| 9. |
- Linderoth, Jonas, 1970
(författare)
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Exploring anonymity in cooperative board games
- 2011
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Ingår i: Think Design Play: The fifth international conference of the Digital Research Association (DIGRA).
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study was done as a part of a larger research project where the interest was on exploring if and how gameplay design could give informative principles to the design of educational activities. The researchers conducted a series of studies trying to map game mechanics that had the special quality of being inclusive, i.e., playable by a diverse group of players. This specific study focused on designing a cooperative board game with the goal of implementing anonymity as a game mechanic. Inspired by the gameplay design patterns methodology (Björk & Holopainen 2005a; 2005b; Holopainen & Björk 2008), mechanics from existing cooperative board games were extracted and analyzed in order to inform the design process. The results from prototyping and play testing indicated that it is possible to implement anonymous actions in cooperative board games and that this mechanic made rather unique forms of gameplay possible. These design patterns can be further developed in order to address inclusive educational practices.
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| 10. |
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| 11. |
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| 12. |
- Linderoth, Jonas, 1970, et al.
(författare)
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Should I stay or should I go? A Study of Pickup Groups in Left 4 Dead 2
- 2014
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Ingår i: Transactions of the Digital Games Research Association. - 2328-9422. ; 1:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this article we report an autoethnographic study of pickup groups (PUGs) in the game Left 4 Dead 2 (L4D2). The study focuses on how PUGs as social arenas are constituted by their participants and the role game design plays in structuring interaction. We use Goffman’s idea that activities are surrounded by a metaphorical frame together with an understanding of gameplay design patterns in order to analyze inclusion and exclusion, social positions and the relation between the game context and the players’ “wider worlds.” In the case of L4D2 the design pattern of Symbiotic Player Relationships creates a social situation that puts extra pressure on the players to perform well and leads to issues of identity. By negotiating the boundary between their in-game identity, based on gaming skill, and other social relations outside of the game context, players can constitute a more stable game session. The study concludes with the tentative suggestion that positive perceptions of other players’ out-of-game identity can save a game from falling apart, yet negative perceptions of other players’ values and out-of-game identities pose no threat to the game activity.
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| 13. |
- Linderoth, Jonas, 1970, et al.
(författare)
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Should I stay or should I go? Boundary maintaining mechanisms in Left 4 Dead 2
- 2012
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Ingår i: Proceedings of DiGRA Nordic 2012 Conference: Local and Global: Games in Culture and Society.
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this paper we report an ethnographic study of Pick Up Groups (PUGs) in the game Left 4 Dead 2. Our aim with the study is to contribute with a deeper understanding of how these new social arenas are constituted by its’ participants and the role game design plays in structuring these encounters. As a deliberate attempt to go beyond the discussion in the game studies field about formalism versus play studies, we use both concepts from micro-sociology as well as concepts from the field of game design as our analytical framework. Our results shows that the dynamics of a PUG can be understood in relation to how players uphold and negotiate the boundary between the their in-game-identity based on their gaming skill and a other social relations outside of the game context.
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| 14. |
- Linderoth, Jonas, 1970
(författare)
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Spel i skolan: Det regelstyrda lärandets möjligheter
- 2014
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Ingår i: I A. Lantz-Andersson & R. Säljö (Red.) Lärare i den uppkopplade skolan. - Malmö : Gleerups. - 9789140687159 ; , s. 173-195
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Bokkapitel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)
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| 15. |
- Linderoth, Jonas, 1970
(författare)
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Superheroes, Greek gods and sport stars: Ecological empowerment as a ludo-narratological construct
- 2013
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Ingår i: In Mitgutsch, K. Huber, S., Wimmer, J., Wagner, H. G., & Rosenstingl, H. (Eds.) Context Matters! Proceedings of the Vienna Games Conference 2013:Exploring and Reframing Games and Play in Context. Vienna: New academic press. - 9783700318644 ; , s. 17-30
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Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- "This chapter presents an analysis of ecological empowerment as a theme in digital game narratives. Since game mechanics often are designed so that players gain more powerful ways of interacting with a game environment (improved abilities) it is argued games are particularly good at telling stories about characters who can perceive and utilize spectacular affordances. Games do not only tell the story of ecological empowerment, they do in fact empower the player in the game world. This analysis thus shows that games can be seen as a specific context for storytelling and thus explain why some themes and narrative elements seem to be overrepresented in games."
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| 16. |
- Linderoth, Jonas, 1970
(författare)
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The Effort of Being in a Fictional World: Upkeyings and Laminated Frames in MMORPGs
- 2012
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Ingår i: Symbolic interaction. - : Wiley. - 0195-6086. ; 35:4, s. 474-492
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- On the basis of ten months of fieldwork studying a role-playing guild in the game World of Warcraft, this article shows that contrary to the idea that virtual worlds are seductive illusions, technology does not necessarily support players' feelings of being immersed in fictional worlds. Applying Goffman's frame theory, the author explains how role-players in the game actively upkey elements from primary frameworks in order to create and uphold the frame of being in a fictional world. This kind of narrative immersion is rather hindered than facilitated by technology.
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| 17. |
- Linderoth, Jonas, 1970, et al.
(författare)
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Världen som spelplan - Gränsöverskridande i onlinespelskulturen
- 2010
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Världen som spelplan är en kvalitativ rapport om onlinespel som sociala mötesplatser där människor som kanske annars aldrig hade kommit i kontakt med varandra möts. Åldersskillnader, nationalitet och social klass blir inte lika centralt som det är på andra sociala arenor. I rapporten ger nio personer sin bild av vardagliga möten i spelvärlden. Onlinespelen är en tydlig prestationskultur där man är välkommen om man är en skicklig spelare men denna prestationskultur åsidosätts dock av en sak: om spelaren är kvinna framträder sterotypa könsuppfattningar som gör att onlinespelandet får andra sociala regler. Studien är genomförd av docent Jonas Linderoth och spelbibliotekarie/forskningsassistent Camilla Olsson på institutionen för pedagogik, kommunikation och lärande vid Göteborgs universitet.
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| 18. |
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| 19. |
- Linderoth, Jonas, 1970
(författare)
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Why gamers donʼt learn more: An ecological approach to games as learning environments
- 2012
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Ingår i: Journal of Gaming and Virtual Worlds. - 1757-191X. ; 4:1, s. 45-61
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article explores the argument that video games by their nature are good learning environments. By applying the ecological approach to perception and learning on gameplay, the article describes gaming as a perception – action cycle, i.e., an interplay between seeing and using affordances. This notion of how game play functions is then used in order to discuss different design features in games, and it is claimed that games can be designed so that players are able to discover and utilize affordances without always having to develop skills and knowledge. Compared to many other practices, gaming can be less demanding and not as complex since progress can be built into the game system. Previous literature have suggested that principles for learning that can be found in games potentially could inform educational practices. This article claims that progression in games does not necessarily imply learning and that the unique ways in which game design facilitate progression might are rather unsuitable principles for learning.
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| 20. |
- Linderoth, Jonas, 1970
(författare)
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Why Games Tell Some Stories: An Ecological Approach to the Relation between Players and Protagonists
- 2013
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Ingår i: International Conference on Narratives, 27-29 June, 2013. Manchester Metropolitan University, England..
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In ecological psychology learning is seen as a transformation of individuals into becoming more competent at interacting with their environment. The use of tools and technology is, in this theory, an extension of agency that gives the same kind of ecological empowerment as learning. Ecological empowerment seems to be a timeless theme in stories; from ancient mythologies to contemporary tales of superheroes. In this paper Linderoth present an analysis of ecological empowerment as a theme in digital game narratives. Since game mechanics often are designed so that players gain more powerful ways of interacting with a game environment, this theme fits game narratives. Games do not only tell the story of ecological empowerment, they do in fact empower the player in the game world. This analysis thus gives a structural explanation why some themes seem to be overrepresented in game narratives.
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| 21. |
- Sjöblom, Björn
(författare)
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Gaming Interaction : Conversations and Competencies in Internet Cafés
- 2011
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The dissertation analyzes interaction in adolescents’ computer gaming. Through the use of video recordings in internet cafés, players’ communicative practices are illuminated. Ethnomethodological and interaction analytical perspectives are used to explicate the participants’ methods for meaning-making in the gaming. The aim of the thesis is to investigate how this co-located interaction sets conditions for game playing as a social activity. The dissertation contains four empirical studies. The first addresses the semiotic resources that the players use in collaborative gaming. It shows how gaming activities involve configurations of semiotic resources that are only available in co-located gaming, such as pointing at the screen or rotating your body towards coplayers. In the second study, the players’ use of so called professional vision is analyzed. Experienced players instruct and discipline a novice’s vision by demonstrating how the interface is connected to the rules of the game. In situations with two experienced players, visual aspects of the game can be used to question other players’ competence, by pointing out, for example, what should be visible to them. The visual aspects of the game are thereby made relevant by the players when one of them has acted contrary to conventional practice. The third study addresses the strategies that players use for highlighting their own competence and questioning their coplayers’. In this way the players create local hierarchies, and in the community of practice in internet cafés there are clear elements of exclusion and competiveness. In the final study the relevance of blame for the gaming practices is examined. Blame is used both for highlighting the player’s own competence, at the expense of another player’s, and for enabling a joint analysis “game exegesis”, in which the causal structures of the gaming are examined by the players. The dissertation shows how a player’s competence is constituted out of action both on the screen and in the gamers’ joint, co-located interactions. Their possibilities for positioning themselves in the social community of gaming are conditioned, not only by their in-game skills, but also by their ability to use the communicative resources that the co-located gaming affords.
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